RO/DI high reads

[minus9]

Honestly, at this point I would buy a new housing for the membrane and start there. Might as well get the water saver kit too. New housing is $10 at BRS

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

Can you take the whole RODI to your lfs and see if they can assist?

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I do have the water saver, both RO membranes are brand new, I could go tomorrow, right now I have been flushing only the membranes for a couple of hours and now it is 103 with a handheld meter. I have ordered two more membranes and paid for quicker shipping so I should have them by the 3/25/22.

 

[Shirak]

I do have the water saver, both RO membranes are brand new, I could go tomorrow, right now I have been flushing only the membranes for a couple of hours and now it is 103 with a handheld meter. I have ordered two more membranes and paid for quicker shipping so I should have them by the 3/25/22.

Maybe take a water sample with you just to rule out your TDS meter is not broken.

 

[minus9]

Flushing won’t really get you anywhere. Do you know someone local who has a unit you could put your filters in and see if that does the trick? My guess it’sa hardware issue and not filters/membranes.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I can check to see. I know a couple of people semi close.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Shirak. I checked a bottle of purified water from the store, 1 gallon 1 dollar type and my handheld HM TDS-3 gave me 4 TDS.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

So Speatrapure just emailed me back and stated that my warranty has expired for my 73 dollar per RO membrane, I did not think I was buying Hot Dog buns that go bad in a week. I. bought these filters when Marine Depot went south and I have had them in my garage since I purchased them, I just opened last week and this thread denotes.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

So Speatrapure just emailed me back and stated that my warranty has expired for my 73 dollar per RO membrane, I did not think I was buying Hot Dog buns that go bad in a week. I. bought these filters when Marine Depot went south and I have had them in my garage since I purchased them, I just opened last week and this thread denotes.

Email (not call) BRS, explain the situation, and see if they will send you replacements. Your calls are answered by the customer care reps but the email will likely get to someone who can make an "executive" decision to help you out. May not work but it's worth a try.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Yeah after I get my new RO membranes and if they work as they should then I will reach out to BRS, they claimed in the beginning of this thread that they will take care of it. I am hoping my tomorrow we will all know what the heck is going on. I can buy a canister from my LFS but it is a 130 mile round trip, I do not mind the drive, this LFS has tons of high end products on the shelf. Traffic is an issue so it has to be welled timed.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

Update, I finally got my two new basic Spectrapure rO membranes, I hooked them up and flushed them.
I have 400 TDS coming in
I have 10 TDS going to the DI
I have 0 TDS out of my new dual DI.

So my brand new expensive 99% RO membranes were bad.

I want to thank everyone who helped out, it has been over two weeks since I could make water.


My next thread should be much more fun, I will hook up a pressure pump, electronics, automatic flush control and a Avast Barrel system.

 

[Shirak]

Update, I finally got my two new basic Spectrapure rO membranes, I hooked them up and flushed them.
I have 400 TDS coming in
I have 10 TDS going to the DI
I have 0 TDS out of my new dual DI.

So my brand new expensive 99% RO membranes were bad.

I want to thank everyone who helped out, it has been over two weeks since I could make water.


My next thread should be much more fun, I will hook up a pressure pump, electronics, automatic flush control and a Avast Barrel system.

10 out is not bad with 400 going in. Almost 98% rejection. Glad you got it solved.

How often do you make water? If you are going to setup some sort of automated system it's a good idea to have an RO to DI bypass valve. If you haven't looked it up, check out TDS creep. Basically, as soon as the system is shut off the water on the RO side gains TDS and equalizes TDS with the waste side. The first quart of RO water out of the system will have high TDS until it's the TDS creep is flushed. If you run that first quart or so through the DI it will use up your DI faster. If you make lots of water infrequently it's not a big deal but if your system runs frequently for small amounts of water the DI will get used up pretty quickly even though everything is functioning properly.

I have a small valve after the RO output and before the DI canisters that lets me divert the RO water and collect it before sending it to the DI. Once the RO water is back down where it should be I can send it to the DI for the fish system. That RO water collected first is great for drinking, houseplants, coffee makers etc.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I bought this unit when it first came out so it maybe different then pictured.

Barrel Tender V2 — $ 209.99

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I have this as well. It is old I bought in 2003 or something like that. Made in Germany.

 

[Blue Spot Octopus]

I go through about 3 gallons a day, my system was in the back yard and it looked ghetto delicious only a reefer could love, so I am bringing it in the garage, so I think I will make a large Brute Trash can worth and then divide it up into SW or top off, so probably once every two weeks.

 

[EeyoreIsMySpiritAnimal]

10 out is not bad with 400 going in. Almost 98% rejection. Glad you got it solved.

How often do you make water? If you are going to setup some sort of automated system it's a good idea to have an RO to DI bypass valve. If you haven't looked it up, check out TDS creep. Basically, as soon as the system is shut off the water on the RO side gains TDS and equalizes TDS with the waste side. The first quart of RO water out of the system will have high TDS until it's the TDS creep is flushed. If you run that first quart or so through the DI it will use up your DI faster. If you make lots of water infrequently it's not a big deal but if your system runs frequently for small amounts of water the DI will get used up pretty quickly even though everything is functioning properly.

I have a small valve after the RO output and before the DI canisters that lets me divert the RO water and collect it before sending it to the DI. Once the RO water is back down where it should be I can send it to the DI for the fish system. That RO water collected first is great for drinking, houseplants, coffee makers etc.

Are you describing a flush valve?

 

[Shirak]

Are you describing a flush valve?

No not technically a flush valve. A flush valve would be on the waste water line. It's used to bypass the flow restrictor to allow a lot of water to flush over the membrane surface and pull waste that has trapped itself on the pores of the membrane, and flush them out the waste line.

This would be a bypass valve to allow RO water to be collected before entering the DI section. Area circled in red, there is a T on the RO line and two valves that allow me to control which direction the RO water flows.

 

[Shirak]

I go through about 3 gallons a day, my system was in the back yard and it looked ghetto delicious only a reefer could love, so I am bringing it in the garage, so I think I will make a large Brute Trash can worth and then divide it up into SW or top off, so probably once every two weeks.

If you are making a large trash can full of water and then waiting to use most of it up before running the system again then you don't need a bypass valve. TDS creep is really only a problem if you have a small ato with a gallon or two of storage or the RODI is plumbed directly into the ATO on the tank and the RODI is running every day or several times a day and only making small amounts of RODI at a time.

 

[Shirak]

TDS creep is really only a problem if you have a small ato with a gallon or two of storage or the RODI is plumbed directly into the ATO on the tank and the RODI is running every day or several times a day and only making small amounts of RODI at a time.

I should also clarify that it is not a major deal if there is no bypass valve even if you do use the RODI frequently for smaller amounts of water. The end result is the DI gets used up faster so it needs to be replaced more frequently and it will cost more $ over time.